Macintosh Centris
Encyclopedia
Motorola 68040
The Motorola 68040 is a microprocessor from Motorola, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060. There was no 68050. In keeping with general Motorola naming, the 68040 is often referred to as simply the '040 ....
CPUs. The name was chosen to indicate that the consumer was selecting a Macintosh in the center of Apple's product line: lower performance (and price) than the Quadra
Macintosh Quadra
The Macintosh Quadra series was Apple Computer's product family of professional high-end Apple Macintosh personal computers built using the Motorola 68040 CPU. The first two models in the Quadra line were introduced in 1991, and the name was used until the Power Mac was introduced in 1994...
computers, but higher performance (and price) than the Performa
Macintosh Performa
The Macintosh Performa series was Apple Computer's consumer product family of Apple Macintosh personal computers sold through department stores and mass-market retailers from 1992 until 1997, when it was superseded by the Power Macintosh 5x00 series...
computers of the time. The name echoes other "neoclassical" prestige branding trends introduced at the time such as Lexus
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
and Acura
Acura
Acura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. The brand has been available in the United States and Canada since March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and near-performance vehicles. It was introduced to Hong Kong in 1991, Mexico in 2004, and China in 2006...
.
The name was used for the Centris 610 and Centris 650, which were introduced in March 1993. It was also used a few months later for the Centris 660AV.
The Centris 610 uses a 20 MHz 68LC040 CPU, which has no math coprocessor functions. It used a new "pizza box" case that was intended to be placed under the user's computer monitor. This case was later used again in the Quadra 610 and Power Macintosh 6100
Power Macintosh 6100
The Power Macintosh 6100 was Apple Computer's first computer to use the new PowerPC RISC type processor created by IBM and Motorola. It came in the Centris 610's "pizza box" low-profile case, and superseded the Quadra series that used Motorola's 68040 processor, Apple's previous high end...
lines of computers, and when these later computers were introduced, Apple offered consumers a product upgrade path by letting them buy a new motherboard. Apple's motherboard upgrades of this type were considered expensive, however, and were not a popular option. The Centris 610 also provided the base for the Workgroup Server 60
Apple Workgroup Server
Apple Workgroup Server and, later, Macintosh Server, were the names given to selected models of Macintosh computers which were sold by Apple Computer with additional server software and sometimes bigger hard drives. Apart from that, they were mostly identical to computers out of Apple's...
.
The base Centris 650 initially used a 25 MHz 68LC040 CPU; later models and all models with Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
built-in use a 68040. It uses the same case as the older Macintosh IIvx
Macintosh IIvx
The Macintosh IIvx was the last of the Macintosh II series of Macintosh computers from Apple. The IIvx included either a 40, 80, 160 or 400 MB hard drive, three NuBus slots, and a Processor Direct Slot. It was the first Macintosh to have a metal case and the first case design of any personal...
and Macintosh IIvi
Macintosh IIvi
The Macintosh IIvi was a short-lived model of the Macintosh II series of Macintosh computers from Apple. The IIvi included either a 40, 160 or 400 MB hard drive, three NuBus slots and a PDS. The IIvi was essentially a Macintosh IIvx with a slower processor and no floating point unit...
computers. The newer Macintosh Quadra 650
Macintosh Quadra 650
The Macintosh Quadra 650 and the Macintosh Centris 650 are two closely related personal computers that are a part of Apple Computer's Quadra and Centris series of Macintosh computers, respectively...
and the Power Macintosh 7100
Power Macintosh 7100
The Power Macintosh 7100 was a mid-range Apple Macintosh personal computer that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from March 1994 to January 1996. The PowerMac 7100 was faster and more expandable than the Power Macintosh 6100, and was a part of the original Power Macintosh line...
line of computers also use the same case.
The Centris 660AV uses a 25 MHz 68040 and also includes a digital signal processor
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
chip from AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
. Like other "AV" computers from Apple, it supports both video input and output.
The name "Centris" was soon considered to be confusing to customers, and was abandoned. The Centris 610 and 650 were replaced about six months later by the Quadra 610 and 650 models, which kept the same basic case and design but raised the CPU speeds from 20 MHz and 25 MHz to 25 MHz and 33 MHz respectively; while the Centris 660AV was renamed to Quadra 660AV without any actual design change. These Macs also existed during Apple's transition from auto-inject floppy drives to manual-inject drives. This is why there are two different styles of floppy drive opening on these models. Some later Centris 660AV Macs have manual-inject floppy drives, so this change was not exactly concurrent with the name change.